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If you’re on the market for a new hybrid laptop then you’re definitely at the right place. We have reviewed the top options for best hybrid laptops.
Before Alan Turing decided to build a machine that could answer any question, we existed in a world of typewriters, notebooks, paper, documents and a lot of manual labour.
Then Turing built the first ever computer reducing man’s workload. Then the computer progressed and became more compact in size and more accessible to the common man. Soon it turned even smaller and cheaper!
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Then came the invention of laptops, making PCs become extinct. Now tablets, more portable and user friendly are threatening to eviscerate laptops. Companies started creating devices combining the experience of a PC, laptop and tablet. These came to be known as hybrid laptops.
A hybrid laptop is basically any laptop that is compact and extremely portable and is so designed that it can function either as a laptop (a device that takes inputs via a keyboard) or a tablet (a device that takes input through a touchscreen interface). This is made possible by including a touch screen in a normal laptop and enabling the screen to either rotate 180 degrees and flip or bend 180 degrees back.
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Hybrid laptops or tablet laptops are not a very recent concept. They were first produced in 2004 when the Windows Tablet software was first released. Since then, however, the specifications available with these hybrid laptops have improved considerably.
Some models even come with their own style and are sometimes used as a phone as well. With the improvement in technology over the years, laptop batteries have become smaller, they generate lesser heat and can thus, be made smaller in size and lighter in weight.
However, they still come with a keyboard and can thus never be as portable as a tablet. On the flipside, the advantage of having the keyboard is that you can use it as a stand for your screen to get better visibility, especially when watching a video or movie.
Convertible laptops are no doubt much easier to handle than normal laptops. But they continue to be more cumbersome than tablets. A recent solution to this issue is tablets with all the software of PCs and externally attachable keyboards that allow them to be used as laptops whenever required.
Thus, there are several variations existing within the category of hybrid laptops. After deciding to buy one, one needs to choose again among all these options. This article has been written to serve as an exhaustive guide for selecting the best hybrid laptop. It lists the top 5 hybrid laptops selling in the market today.
This bad boy has it better than all and is certainly among the best hybrid laptops of 2021. A gorgeous design combined with a powerful 7th generation i7 Intel core processor, a 4K display on a 13.3 inches screen, two USB ports (including type C), SSD storage – all this packed in a light and very much portable design.
The battery life is over 10 hours, audio is better than ever with two speakers on the both sides of the body, a smoother keyboard over which your fingers can simply fly and additional stylus support! What’s more, it has fixed some of the bugs of the earlier x2 like the awkward positioning of the webcam.
Its display has two small cameras with a mic fit in for better video call experiences! A con of the model is the fact that it gets heated up faster than other models. Slightly intensive use leads to high temperature degree of the fan. However, the outer surface with the keyboard remains cool and usable.
HP’s spectre satisfies all of one’s and while the price is slightly higher than the rest the offerings are slightly better as well! This is one of the best models of convertible laptops available in the market.
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After Microsoft released its Surface Pro, the world started believing in its prowess of producing hardware. Recently, it launched the Surface Book an even better spin off on the convertible laptop concept that it had introduced in the market with the Pro model.
With its trademark hinge – a ‘dynamic fulcrum’ – the surface book has a separately dockable keyboard. When attached it has the complete look and feel of a laptop. A single yank and you have a tablet! What’s more, this tablet/laptop has all the specifications one requires.
It has a sufficiently large screen of over 13 inches, an aspect ratio of 3:2 and a powerful core with an SSD storage. The sensitivity of the touchscreen and the track pad are also immensely satisfying.
Its lid is made of Magnesium and the lid and the bottom have the same thickness! It is light and sturdy in its build and portable making it travel-friendly as well. But most fascinating is the ease with which the screen detaches itself after a single pull.
The design also impresses in the way the keyboard is placed – leaving no lasting imprints on the screen as is the case in a few laptop models.
The yoga is one of the best hybrid laptops. It uses a watchband hinge as the mechanism for its screen rotation. This makes the laptop’s movement smoother than any other model. The Yoga 910, in particular, is packing all that’ great. Everything is bigger and better in this one. It has more battery life – 10 hours!
It has a powerful i7 Intel Core with up to 3.1 GHz processor. It is light in build and has an elegant finish that is appealing to the eyes. Yet, it has a good size screen of 13.9 inches! And the clinching factor is that it is well priced at affordable rates. The only con it has is its Webcam. It’s awkward location makes it difficult to skype or video calls comfortably.
The major competition that this model faces is from the HP Spectre which is very similar in its specifications and cheaper in its price.
In choosing between these two, one has to assess two things – how much does the brand name matter and how much is one willing to pay for a slightly bigger and better (4K) screen with slightly better battery backup and the famous Lenovo watchband hinge.
This model sports reasonable price while fulfilling most of a layman’s technical requirements, including USB ports, with an elegant thin built and powerful audio speakers.
However, it also has a below average battery life and a not so bright display screen that might take the shine out of buying it. Its façade is much the same as Lenovo and Asus’ hybrid laptops. It also has a backlit keyboard that makes it easier to work at night with the keyboard.
The sensitivity displayed by the travel on keys and the track pad reveals the high quality of products made by Dell. However, this high quality might have been too good for the model. High sensitivity and a large screen don’t go together if you’re using a tab.
Thus, in the tabular mode, its user keeps tapping keys they didn’t mean to with their elbow. Moreover, Dell has removed the stylus from this model. Thus, making its laptop do a little different. The next issue with the software is that there is no auto-correct option available when typing in tap mode.
With mind-blowing specifications, this laptop has all that one needs. An Intel core with dual-core processor till 3.1 GHz. A high memory SSD. Upgradable RAM, graphics card and a 12 inch touch screen. It even has a stylus or pen to be used when using the device in tablet mode.
What’s more, it’s got all these features packed in an ultra-thin body – the thinnest HP has ever been! It’s a sturdy laptop built to be portable and make life easier for its users. However, it has cons too. Its battery life is not as high as one would like it to be.
The pen is not as sensitive as it is in the other hybrid models like Microsoft’s Surface. And price wise it is higher than Lenovo’s Yoga and Microsoft’s Surface Pro.
HP not to be left behind in this new race of laptops that are no longer laptop has come up with its own hybrid model. However, while there’s much that can be said about its imitation skills there’s not much to say about its innovation skills. HP Spectre, while an amazing laptop to use is much similar to its competitor Surface.
Bottom line is that there are several different convertible or hybrid laptops available in the market. Hybrid is the new way! No one ever buys a laptop alone anymore. Everyone wants more and the companies are ready to oblige.
While today these are the 5 best hybrid laptops available in the market, tomorrow one will find the release of an even better model with more offerings and lesser cons!
Soon an entirely new type of device will be discovered that will make the hybrid laptops redundant just like they did to the normal ones.
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Marcus has a graduate degree in computer engineering and has many years of experience in cutting-edge technology research and development in both startups and Fortune 500 corporations. In his free time, he enjoys RTS gaming.
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